Starmer has not spoken to Trump about US election interference row
Sir Keir Starmer said he has not spoken to Donald Trump since his campaign accused the Labour Party of interfering in the US election.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Prime Minister has not spoken to Donald Trump since the presidential candidate’s campaign claimed the Labour Party was interfering in the US election.
Sir Keir Starmer was asked if he had called Mr Trump to smooth over the row about Labour staffers campaigning for Kamala Harris.
“No, he’s in the middle of a campaign,” Sir Keir told ITV.
“Also I think we need just a little bit of perspective here. This is Labour Party members of staff volunteering in their spare time in the election. It’s happened at every election, it happens across the world.”
Mr Trump’s team has filed an official complaint with US federal election authorities, in which they claim the UK Labour Party has “made, and the Harris campaign has accepted, illegal foreign national contributions”.
Senior Labour officials were also said to have met Ms Harris’s campaign staff.
Sir Keir has insisted that his relationship with Mr Trump, who could be the next US president following the closely fought race, would not be jeopardised by the incident.
When he travelled to New York in September, Sir Keir had also hoped to meet Ms Harris but was not able to schedule a meeting.
The Labour Party has said it is common practice for campaigners of all political persuasions from around the world to volunteer in US elections and that any Labour activists who take part do so at their own expense and in line with US laws and rules.